DOJ admits shocking mistake after sealed Jack Smith report lands with alleged leaker

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump's Justice Department has acknowledged a major courtroom mistake after inadvertently providing a sealed portion of former Special Counsel Jack Smith's final report to the former federal prosecutor accused of leaking that very document.

The disclosure, revealed in a court filing, comes as prosecutors pursue criminal charges against Carmen Lineberger, adding an unexpected twist to one of the department's highest-profile leak prosecutions.

According to a joint court notice filed on Thursday, July 2, the DOJ confirmed that copies of the sealed Volume II of Smith's report were mistakenly embedded in electronic discovery materials provided to Lineberger's legal team.

Defense attorneys notified prosecutors days later after identifying the documents and questioning whether they had been intentionally produced.

DOJ acknowledges discovery mistake

The Justice Department said it fulfilled its discovery obligations on June 3 by providing electronic evidence to Lineberger's attorneys on flash drives. On June 9, defense counsel alerted prosecutors that three documents appeared to contain the sealed report.

After reviewing the materials, the government confirmed that the documents were indeed copies of Volume II of Jack Smith's final report that had been embedded within electronic messages included in discovery.

Lineberger, 62, was indicted in May on allegations that she improperly emailed herself the sealed report while working as a federal prosecutor. According to the indictment, she disguised the file by labeling the email "Chocolate cake recipe.pdf."

The newly acknowledged disclosure does not alter the charges but has drawn attention because the government mistakenly sent the same sealed report back to the defendant during the prosecution.

Jack Smith criticizes Justice Department

The disclosure surfaced as Jack Smith delivered sharp criticism of the current Justice Department during an interview with MSNOW's Nicolle Wallace.

Smith argued that the department has lost credibility with federal judges, saying, "One of the problems today, besides the retribution prosecutions, is that the Justice Department can't do its job right."

He added that judicial confidence in federal prosecutors has eroded, making it harder for the department to effectively represent the government in court.

Smith had led investigations into Trump involving classified documents and the 2020 election before the cases ended after Trump's return to the White House in 2025, consistent with longstanding DOJ policy regarding sitting presidents.

The DOJ's acknowledgment of its discovery error is now likely to become part of the ongoing proceedings as the leak case against Lineberger moves forward.